Be Courageous

Recently we have been talking a lot about courage and what it means to be a courageous leader. I think one of the best definitions that I have come across is by Ambrose Redmoon “Courage is not the absence of fear, but rather the judgment that something else is more important than fear.”

Courage in leadership is not always being 100% right. One of the men in our small group with a military perspective said that after taking wise counsel from others, and then examining various aspects of a situation, the courageous leader takes decisive action. Another one said that it is sometimes defined by taking action without all the knowledge pertaining to a certain task or situation, like entering a burning building to battle a fire. Each and every day Christians are confronted with opportunities to either show courage or to shrink back in many of life’s decisions. In our jobs, in our families, with our friends, and wherever God places us, we must be willing to do that which is not always comfortable, convenient, or popular. We must be committed to do what is right and biblical. Real courage is remaining faithful to that which is true regardless of public opinion or trends.

Likewise, courage is often best defined in terms of actions actually taken. It is great to consider what one should do in a particular circumstance, or what the right thing is to do in a fearful situation, and even being able to give the right answers to those questions. It is certainly another thing to actually act in a way that displays courage and to do that what God has told us to do.

A few questions to ask yourself…

What would you do right now (you know it’s the right thing to do) if you were not afraid to do it ?

What are you afraid of ?

What specifically has God already spoken to you about, that you should be doing right now, and you just need to have the courage to trust and obey him?